18 The Lord informed me, so I knew.

Then you helped me to see their deeds,

19 for I was like a docileG lamb led to slaughter.ad

I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:

“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;A

let’s cut him off from the land of the livinga

so that his name will no longer be remembered.”

20 But, Lord of Armies, who judges righteously,

who testsb heartB and mind,c

let me see your vengeance on them,

for I have presented my case to you.d

21 Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathothe who intend to take your life. They warn, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord,f or you will certainly die at our hand.” 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.g 23 They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathothh in the year of their punishment.”

JEREMIAH’S COMPLAINT

12 You will be righteous, Lord,i

even if I bring a case against you.

Yet, I wish to contend with you:j

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?k

Why do all the treacherous live at ease?

2 You planted them,l and they have taken root.

They have grown and produced fruit.

You are ever on their lips,C

but far from their conscience.B,m

3 As for you, Lord, you know me; you see me.n

You test whether my heart is with you.o

Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughterp

and set them apart for the day of killing.

4 How long will the land mournq

and the grass of every field wither?

Because of the evil of its residents,

animals and birds have been swept away,r

for the people have said,

“He cannot see what our end will be.”D,s

THE LORD’S RESPONSE

5 If you have raced with runners

and they have worn you out,

how can you compete with horses?

If you stumbleE in a peaceful land,

what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?t

6 Even your brothers—your own father’s family—

even they were treacherous to you;u

even they have cried out loudly after you.v

Do not have confidence in them,

though they speak well of you.

7 I have abandoned my house;w

I have deserted my inheritance.

I have handed the love of my life

over to her enemies.

8 My inheritance has behaved toward me

like a lion in the forest.

She has roared against me.

Therefore, I hate her.x

9 Is my inheritance like a hyenaF to me?

Are birds of prey circling her?

Go, gather all the wild animals;y

bring them to devour her.